4: Chapter 4 Thunderstorm

Zhou Che did not have the ability to change the rules yet; he could only watch helplessly, thinking, "As long as I survive, that's enough."

The Convoy raced madly along the road, soon reaching a large canyon.

With steep cliffs rising on both sides, the road was so narrow that vehicles could only pass one by one.

Immediately after, bean-sized raindrops pelted down, instantly turning into a torrential downpour.

The curtain of rain obscured the sky and sun, blurring most of the visibility, and the road surface instantly became slippery and muddy.

Yet, no one dared to slow down. All the drivers floored the gas pedals, engines roaring, tires kicking up mud as they raced into the canyon one after another, risking their lives.

This was a race against death; a single step too slow, and they could be devoured by the anomalies, leaving not even bones behind.

Just as The Convoy was madly rushing through the canyon, the torrential rain stopped without any warning.

The sky remained heavily overcast, without any transition, and in the next second, a thunderous clatter slammed hard against the roof of the car.

Zhou Che looked up, his expression shifting slightly.

It was hail the size of fists, falling in dense swarms, clattering loudly against the car body. The windshield was instantly covered in dense cracks, looking like it could shatter at any moment.

Zhou Che cursed his bad luck, having no mind to worry about the glass.

"In this damn weather, fixing it is a waste of time; it'll get smashed sooner or later. Escaping is what matters!"

He turned his head and roared at Lin Wan, who was driving, "Forget everything else, floor the gas and accelerate!"

Lin Wan did not dare to delay, flooring the gas pedal, and the wuling hongguang shot forward like a mad beast.

With hail hitting the metal car, for vehicles like theirs, it was at most vehicle damage; the people inside could still hide and save their lives.

But for those at the back of The Convoy, the people riding tricycles and motorcycles, it was a catastrophe!

The hard hailstones slammed violently onto their bodies and heads, and screams and wails erupted instantly, making one's scalp tingle.

Those wearing helmets could barely hold on for a while, but they were still knocked off balance, their vehicles wobbling as if about to lose control.

For those without helmets, the outcome was too gruesome to look at.

One hit and they were silent, collapsing to the ground on the spot with blood streaming from their heads. Their vehicles overturned on the roadside, and they lost their breath instantly, with no room left to struggle.

Zhou Che took a glance through the rearview mirror, his eyes devoid of any ripples.

The apocalypse was just this cruel; it was the law of the jungle, and life and death were fated.

They were barely able to take care of themselves; they had neither the time nor the obligation to save these people.

These people were essentially the "lizard's tail" used by The Convoy to attract danger and cover the rear to save their own lives—if they died, they died.

He kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead and coldly urged, "Keep driving, don't look back!"

The hail hadn't stopped, and an even more hair-raising scene slammed right before their eyes.

Lightning!

This canyon was narrow and cramped, with towering cliffs on both sides—it was practically a dead end that attracted lightning, making the probability of being struck infinitely high!

Zhou Che's heart just skipped a beat when, in the next second, a bolt of lightning as thick as a wrist crashed down two or three meters in front of the car's hood.

With a thunderous boom, a small pit was blasted into the ground, gravel scattered everywhere, and the car body shook violently.

The electric current spread along the ground, leaving Zhou Che and Lin Wan feeling numb all over, their hair standing on end.

Zhou Che cursed inwardly, his sense of relief just rising—thankfully, it hadn't hit the car!

But as soon as this thought emerged, the retribution of heaven arrived immediately.

Crack—!

A blinding bolt of lightning struck the hood of the wuling hongguang with precision!

A piercing sound of electricity exploded, and the high voltage instantly swept through the entire car.

Zhou Che and Lin Wan's hair stood up like bird's nests, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. Their muscles spasmed continuously from the shock, and the numbness seeped into their very bones, leaving them unable to move for a long while.

The car engine stalled instantly, the speed plummeted, and it looked like they were about to be completely left behind by The Convoy in front.

Lin Wan's eyes were red with fear, tears welling up, and her voice trembled, "Mr. Zhou! What do we do! The car has been struck and broken; we are going to be left behind!"

To be left behind in this canyon full of danger meant only one thing: death!

Zhou Che's heart also sank; he realized in an instant that the engine had been completely fried!

Hearing Lin Wan's panicked sobbing, Zhou Che roared loudly, suppressing his own panic, "What are you panicking for! I am of the Mechanic Sequence! What's fixing an engine to me!"

Forcing himself to endure his numb body, he dared not delay for a second, immediately channeling the power of the Mechanic Sequence within him.

Pale blue mechanical energy surged out along his arm and pressed directly onto the scorching hot hood, beginning to frantically repair the damaged engine!

In the moments of delay, vehicles whizzed past them, leaving them far behind.

Zhou Che looked at The Convoy getting further and further away in the rearview mirror, his heart hardening. Gritting his teeth, he channeled all his Mechanic Sequence power, pouring it frantically into the engine.

"Fix yourself! Start moving!"

Vroom—

The engine, which had been stalled, instantly roared to life, completely repaired!

Lin Wan reacted extremely quickly, flooring the gas pedal. The speed maxed out, and the wuling hongguang shot forward like a mad beast, catching up with the rhythm of The Convoy once again.

Lin Wan patted her chest, her face full of the relief of having survived a disaster—she had almost lost her soul to the canyon.

Zhou Che, however, felt a wave of darkness before his eyes, his head dizzy, and his whole body feeling extremely weak. Just now, exerting his ability to the fullest had almost drained most of his strength.

He felt a lingering fear; he had almost become the abandoned lizard's tail, dying in this damn canyon.

"My Sequence power is still too weak; I must improve it quickly!"

Getting struck by lightning and then repairing a car at full power leaves me in this state—it's simply not good enough.

After tearing forward like this for more than ten minutes, The Convoy finally rushed out of the narrow canyon.

Miraculously, the moment they drove out of the canyon, the severe weather of lightning and hail cleared up, and the sunlight spilled down, blindingly bright.

Outside the canyon was an endless prairie, the air fresh, without a trace of any eerie, chilling atmosphere.

The leader, Captain Wu Jue, sensed the surroundings and immediately ordered through the walkie-talkie: "Everyone stop, rest on the spot!"

The Convoy slowed to a stop, and everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhou Che turned his head to look at his wuling hongguang, and his face immediately darkened.

The car body was pitted and covered in dents from the hail, and the windows he had just sealed earlier were already shattered and dilapidated from the lightning and hail.

"This piece of junk, what difference is there between this and being half-naked!"

He cursed inwardly, deciding he must use his Mechanic ability later to thoroughly fix the car; otherwise, for the journey ahead, he wouldn't even have a place to shelter from the wind and rain.

As soon as The Convoy settled down, Captain Wu Jue, his expression still tense, turned and called over his deputy, Xiao Zhang.

"Go, count the remaining people and see how many were lost in the canyon."

Xiao Zhang took the order and hurried between the vehicles to count; before long, he returned with his head hanging low.

"Captain, ...more than twenty people are missing."

Captain Wu Jue let out a long sigh, his face full of helplessness; leading a team in the apocalypse, every migration was a parting of life and death.

Zhou Che, listening from the side, heard it clearly, but there wasn't a ripple on his face; he just felt it was ordinary.

Where in the apocalypse do people not die? People die every day; twenty-something lives were nothing out of the ordinary.

Back when he hadn't awakened his Sequence and was just an ordinary person, he struggled on the edge of life and death every day, with death always close at hand; he had long since seen through this cruelty.